Help with enclosure/lighting

CharlieP

New Member
So arriving this week

-Reptibreeze LED deluxe 2x2x4
-mistking v5 with 3 wedges and double nozzles
- dragon ledge 5 piece

I will be using live plants, branches, and a few fake vines.
I will cut a drain in the bottom so there is no standing water to collect

Hear are a few of my questions,

1- for this enclosure what would be my best lighting setup (uvb-basking-and plant grow light) I'm willing to spend some $ so I don't want just acceptable, but some really good quality, with a good timer? (Not a timer light combo per say, but a good matching timer.)
2- whith running a mistking, should I still use a fogger also? If so what system would you recomend?
3- as for misting over spray, I was thinking. Could I put say 6 inches of acrylic around the top of the screen, 1 to help with water, but 2 to help prevent climbing up screen to top screen? Acrylic edges would be rounded, not sharp.

Additionally is there anything else I should look at or anything I'm doing wrong or any recommendations?

(My current cage is meh, as I was scammed with my first cham purchase, I went off of a lot af bad advice)
I'll put a pic of current with plants ill be using in new enclosure) we have an ambilobe panther, 6 or 7 months old)
 

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So arriving this week

-Reptibreeze LED deluxe 2x2x4
-mistking v5 with 3 wedges and double nozzles
- dragon ledge 5 piece
No offense, but I think you may have been scammed again. Depending on your ambient climate (and where you live) a hybrid enclosure may have been a better option for maintaining humidity.

The LEDs are bells & whistles for keepers—they do nothing for chameleons, and aside from UVB, white is the only color necessary.

That's a lot of nozzles for a 2x2x54 enclosure. Two single nozzles (one ion each front corner) should be adequate.

I will be using live plants, branches, and a few fake vines.
I'd skip the fake vines. Pothos, Philodendron, Wandering Jew, and Madagascar Jasmin are great living vines—among others.
I will cut a drain in the bottom so there is no standing water to collect
Got a drain pan? There are many after-market drain pans available. There's also a good thread on
Drainage Systems for Cages.

1- for this enclosure what would be my best lighting setup (uvb-basking-and plant grow light) I'm willing to spend some $ so I don't want just acceptable, but some really good quality, with a good timer? (Not a timer light combo per say, but a good matching timer.)
24" (nom) linear T5 HO UVB—either Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%

All basking set-ups require some trial & error to balance wattage, distance, and angle.
Best choices in order are:
  1. Household incandescent
  2. Incandescent flood (not spot)
  3. Halogen flood (not spot)
Installing at an angle provides gradients so the cham can choose the temps it needs/wants.

Best plant lights (for a number of reasons) are LEDs. Best for this size enclosure (IMO) is
https://www.sansiled.com/70w-led-grow-light-full-spectrum.html

2- whith running a mistking, should I still use a fogger also? If so what system would you recomend?
Depends on species. Foggers are generally for night use. So far I've not needed one with misting a few times during the night. YMMV.

3- as for misting over spray, I was thinking. Could I put say 6 inches of acrylic around the top of the screen, 1 to help with water, but 2 to help prevent climbing up screen to top screen? Acrylic edges would be rounded, not sharp.
Over-spray shouldn't be a problem with good nozzle aiming, but here's another case where hybrid enclosures can help.

Climbing screen is natural for young chameleons. Mine uses the screen ceiling for his "chameleon superhighway". As long as there's no danger from burning—no problem. If there is a burn hazard, that should be addressed & corrected.

we have an ambilobe panther, 6 or 7 months old)
Nothing like burying the lede! :ROFLMAO: No biggie. I have the same.

I'm a little confused... In the pics you seem to have both substrate and pots. Are doing—or considering—bioactive, because that brings up some different issues.
 
No offense, but I think you may have been scammed again. Depending on your ambient climate (and where you live) a hybrid enclosure may have been a better option for maintaining humidity.

The LEDs are bells & whistles for keepers—they do nothing for chameleons, and aside from UVB, white is the only color necessary.

That's a lot of nozzles for a 2x2x54 enclosure. Two single nozzles (one ion each front corner) should be adequate.
So i really don't care about the LED's in the cage, it was just actually the fastest cage i could get shipped, prob walnt even use these as i want high quality LED on top, as for the nozzles, i didn't know if i would need 2 or 3, if 2 is plenty i will keep the spare out. I live in South Ga and we are fairly humid, my main concern will be night, as our house is cold, that's why i was thinking a fogger for night humidity. If i cannot maintain humidity i will replace a screen with acrylic or plexy, but honestly think it will work in our environment
I'd skip the fake vines. Pothos, Philodendron, Wandering Jew, and Madagascar Jasmin are great living vines—among others.
okay, i was just thinking a few going from side to side, and one up and down, as the plants grow and fill enclosure
Got a drain pan? There are many after-market drain pans available. There's also a good thread on
will have a drain pan, but i will port it directly in bottom, leading to a hidden bucket underneath.
Nothing like burying the lede! :ROFLMAO: No biggie. I have the same.

I'm a little confused... In the pics you seem to have both substrate and pots. Are doing—or considering—bioactive, because that brings up some different issues.
so yes in my current enclosure, i have substrate, but in new enclosure i will not.


Thank you so much for the input and tips, i will be looking at the lights in the next few min.
 
That's fine, but you can usually do better on the price with a generic fixture. IDK who has the best price this week. I've been getting bulbs/fixtures from https://www.pangeareptile.com but they appear to be out of stock on that size bulb. You might also try the site sponsors.

and on the led you linked, get 1 or should i get 2? Ill have the uvb at an angle across the top, basking in a corner, then either one side led, or put led on both sided of uvb?

thanks again!
One LED pad should be enough; quite a few folks here have them.

There's nothing wrong with mounting the UVB at an angle across the top, but it's not necessary either—up to you.

I have my UVB across the middle—about 1/3 from the back, with the other 2 in front of that.
The basking light is tilted toward the center of the enclosure, where the basking area is. It casts its light in an ellipse rather than a circle; closer to the lamp is warmer—farther from the lamp is cooler.

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Set yours up in whatever way works best for you; there are many ways that work.
I can recommend these sites:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3n4S2GRkOGfk2U8-xhaw6Q
https://chameleonacademy.com/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/lighting/
and making use of the archives:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/search/1064444/?q=lighting&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance
 
Another good plant option is arcadia jungle dawn led bar especially if you decide to go Arcadia pro Uvb for your uvb source.
I use this combination & they piggy back to share same power source.
Incandescent bulb for heat/uva in a dome fixture (no energy efficiency here) with a dimming thermostat is a good safety investment. Some thermostats have built in timing for your uvb/plant light meaning you dont need use of timers 👍
 
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